Library History

The Lovett Memorial Library was built on the entire west half of the 100 block of North Houston Street. The building was dedicated on January 18, 1955.

In 1985, the Harrington Foundation of Amarillo paid for the computerization of library records, joining the library for the first time into a consortium with most of the public libraries in the Panhandle.

By the mid-1990’s Lovett Library was showing its age, and it was furthermore not compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act. In October 1995 it was announced that Mrs. Ruth Ann Holland has left $500,000 to the Library Foundation in her will. In 1996 the Lovett Library Foundation, which managed the Holland bequest and several other substantial bequests. announced that a plan was being made to extensive renovate the old building. In January 1998 the library staff along with all books and much equipment moved from the Houston Street facility to the old B. M. Baker school on the south side, where the library was set up in the cafeteria and classroom annex in the south part of the school complex.

This freed the old building on Houston Street for renovation. The children’s area was moved to the second floor; a bridge was built between the second floor facility and other children’s rooms in the south part of the building’ and was installed; new shelves, lighting, and ceiling tiles were installed; and the building was made completely ADA compliant.

In June 2003 it was announced that R. L. Franklin, prominent rancher of Pampa, would donate two statues to the library to honor the 50th anniversary of the opening of the building in January 1955. One statue, by Don Ray of Channing, represents a seated woman reading to a child; this is erected in front of the library. Another statue representing a Pioneer Woman was by David Frech of New York; this was placed in the library’s Reading Garden. Both Statues were dedicated to four local women, including the donor’s mother, each of whom had a long involvement with the library. The statues were dedicated on January 9, 2005, and at one of the dedicatory events the author Elmer Kelton was the guest speaker.